David and Charlotte met on Tinder – neither were looking for a relationship at the time, but they just kept seeing each other and wanting to hang out. David originally didn’t want to elope, but Charlotte created a PowerPoint presentation outlining the pros and cons and how much fun it would be, and who could say no to that!?
The couple love old school Vegas and were inspired by Elvis and Pricilla’s wedding, but with the help of Rock n Roll Bride, they put a modern twist on it! “I knew I wanted a big pink mob wife coat and that we wanted to eat out favourite food and visit our favourite places,” explained Charlotte. “We just wanted a chill day, visit the Neon Museum, and be comfortable!”
Charlotte and David loved planning their wedding, and didn’t find the process stressful at all. “We started planning a year and a half in advance because I didn’t want to be spontaneous and limited to options. We didn’t want to get bogged down in wedding beaurocracy, so eloping was perfect for us – no tedious bridesmaids and groomsmen fittings, or faff with finding a venue. Even though we eloped, we still got to have the fuss and excitement of the build up – I had a hen party with my closest girls to celebrate which was super fun.”
They kept the whole thing under $10,000, with their biggest spend being on photography. Charlotte paired her ASOS dress with a sweetheart trimmed Crown and Glory veil, sunglasses from a local flea market and a famous coat – purchase from a Real Housewife, no less! “We relied a lot on thrifting and small businesses,” said Charlotte. “My handbag, sunglasses and coat was thrifted, my shoes were made in Bali and my fishnet socks are from a small Etsy shop called BabyDollBetty who also eloped in Vegas and was featured on Rock and Roll Bride!”
For their ceremony, they took a short drive just outside Vegas to El Dorado Dry Lake Bed. “It was so windy, a cold cold COLD wind, I was so grateful for my coat!” Charlotte laughed. “It was short and sweet, just as we wanted it.” They then toured around their favourite Vegas haunts for photos – the Neon Museum, In n Out Burger, before ending their night at Caesar’s Palace. “Somebody pulled up in a cab beside us and yelled ‘Congrats you beautiful bastards!’”
“We wouldn’t change anything at all about our day,” the bride concluded. “Our advice for future couples would be to have fun with your day, you don’t want to look back and thin about how stressed you were. Also INVEST in a good photographer – the photos will live forever!”
